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PRESENTED TO THE 
SCHOOLS OF PHILADELPHIA 

by 

HARDWICK & MAGEE CO. 

0. Of D. 
FEB 28 1918 



\%'^ 



Copyright, :QJ.7, by the 

Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce 



±ne Rug and Carpet Industry 
of Pniladelpliia 

By PHILIP A. HALL 



PHILADELPHIA, the "World's (Greatest Workshop," has no line of 
endeavor in which she can exhihit more pride than that of the Rug 

and Carpet industry. It may be said to be one of her ancient 
industries, dating back to shortly after the Revolution in a real manu- 
facturing way, although the goodnian or the housewife among the 
colonists, wove the carpet which adorned the tloors of the principal rooms 
of the home. The real wealthy could afford an imported carpet. 

Rag and Ingrain carpets were the first woven, the latter, although 
^f Scotch origin, being known as Kidderminster from the place in which 
they were originally made in 1735 in England. 

W'illiam Peter Sprague in 1791, in his shoj) on North Second Street, 
Philadelphia, was the first to manufacture these goods in America, on a 
considerable scale. 

The most imjwrtant manufacturer of the early ])eriod was Isaac 
Macauley. who o]:)erated continuously from 1810 to 18.^. He was also 
credited with having made the first P)russels car])et in America. Since 
that time there have been many illustrious car])et manufactiu'ers in 
Philadelphia and the names of Bromley ; McCallum ; Ivins, Dietz & 
Magee ; Hogg & Metzger ; Dobson ; Dornan ; Horner ; Kitchenman&Neall ; 
Gay and Crow, revive old memories and some of these factories are still 
active after many years of successful operation. 

The art having been lirought from the ^^lother Country has remained 
to this day a distinctive craft, owned and operated by those of English, 
Irish and Scotch ancestry or birth, and as if by clannish common consent, 
nearly all the mamifacturers located their estal)lishments in the Kensing- 
ton district. 

For three-qtiarters of a centmw Philadelphia was famous for her 
production of Ingrain and Venetian hall and stair carpets and other 
grades as they were introduced or invented. The tremendous growth, 
however, did not begin until after the Civil War, and about 1870 
there were two hundred aiid fifteen factories, large and small, tiu-ning 
out in great quantities the article which transforms a house into a 
home. Shortly afterward power looms began to rapidly replace the old 
hand looms and gave a w^onderful impetus to the trade. Great plants had 
their beginnings and the hand looms were left in the smaller shops to 



THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 




original Uriental v^'ay 



gradually die out, which they did in the early 
nineties. 

Brussels and Tapestry carpets and Smyrna 
rugs were the next in importance, showing a rapid 
advance from 1880. Axminster, Velvet and Wil- 
ton also started at this time and with many new 
weaves which had hut a brief existence, were made 
in steadily increasing (piantities until even now the 
zenith has not been reached in this wonderful 
l)ranch of textiles. 

l)Ut this has not been done without a feeling 
of sadness for the passing of the genus Ingrain, so 
long the glory and a source of prosperity of the 
(Juaker Citv. Its death-knell was sounded by the 
increase in jjopularity of the other grades, because 
of their greater l)eauty. durability and improved 

mechanical production, 
coupled with the advance 
in designing and coloring 
and the advent of rugs as 
distinguished from 
carj^ets. From its height 
of poijularity about 1895 
there was a steady de- 
crease, and many hundred 
looms have gone to the 
junk pile or been changed 
to make light summer- 

[^as^= ' — - ^^L^-"^^ wear rugs, so that at jores- 

" ^= ent very few Ingrains are 

As our forefathers labored mirlp 

Reasons of housework, decorative value and 
the laving of hardwood floors gradually demanded 
a change from the old order of things. The carpet 
\\'hich covered the floor completely, was tacked 
down, and onlv taken u]). cleaned and relaid with 
great trouble at housecleaning times. Manv small 
rugs for scattering around the floor and some large 
ones in one piece, mostly Ingrain Art Squares and 
later Smyrna rugs, had been made, but it remained 
for our own Philadelphia house of Hardwick & 
Magee Company, in 1893, to successfully make a 
novelty which was destined to practically revolu- 
tionize rug methods. By properly designing the 
pattern and weaving in rolls which v.'ere cut into 
The modern way Strips, a perfect rug in any size could be made by 





THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 

sewing togetlier the various strips, mostly 27 inches wide. It is interest- 
ing to know that the 27 inch standard of width conies from the Flemish 
ell which was that measure. The fabric in which this sewed rug was 
originally made was the Wilton, the diamond among domestic grades of 
floor covering, but in a special quality much lower in price than those 
previously produced which could only be purchased by the wealthy. 

The idea made a tremendous impression, and was immediately 
adopted by all manufacturers in this country and abroad. Nearly every 
grade of goods was made in this way, although Velvet, Tapestry and 
Axminster rugs are now produced largely in one piece up to fifteen 
feet wide, and in special cases wider. There are exceedingly few wide 
Wilton looms in the United States, owing to the great cost, slow produc- 
tion, size and weight of the loom and the space required. There is no 
doubt, however, these will come in time, btit for the present, 27 inch 
36 inch and 54 inch looms produce practically the entire output. 

It must not be thought that there are not many carpets made, for 
vast quantities are tised in Chtnxhes, Hotels, Cltibs, Trains, Theaters and 
other public institutions, where their utility is uncpiestioned. 

Size and Present Importance 

Philadelphia has continued to uphold its supremacy in the rug and 
carpet manufacturing industry established so many years ago, but the 
conditions have materially changed. At the crest of the great Ingrain 
wave there were in this city 3,300 looms with a cajmcity of 45,000,000 
yards annually, more than that of the other carpet factories of the coun- 
try combined. With the decadence of the Ingrain output, manufacturers 
were forced to make other grades or shut up shop. Some did the latter, 
and the change made by the largest operators enabled others to continue 
making Ingrain fabrics. 

Body Brtissels assumed great importance for a numl)er of years, but 
the inevitable tendency was toward the regal Wilton. In recent years 
many of the older establishments and several newcomers in the field have 
made this fabric in great quantities, in addition to the cheaper Tapestry, 
Velvet and Axminster. 

The number of looms is mtich reduced from the Ingrain days and 
the production of other grades slower, but prices are higher, consequently 
the actual value is not greatly dififerent, except as it is afl^ected by 
industrial conditions. The depression beginning November 1907 caused a 
material decrease in all floor covering production. 

Figures are dry, and when they run into millions, appalling ; but a 
few statistics are necessary to show the immensity and prominence of 
this wonderful indtistrv locally. 

U. S. Census for year 'l850, value $1,137,000; 1860, $2,601,000; 
1870. $9,625,000 ; 1880, $14,263,000 ; 1890. $21,504,000 ; 1900, $21,986,000 ; 
1905, $25,233,000: 1910. $22,629,000; 1914. $20,587,000. 



THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 







Some^vhat further advanced 




Source of Materials Used in Manufacturing 

A call for help to the nations of the 
earth is necessary when it conies to 
assembling the materials used in mak- 
ing a roll of carpet or a rug — wool 
from China, Russia, Scotland, the 
Mediterranean States, Asia Minor and 
the Argentine ; linen stock from Italy, 
Belgium, Russia, Great Britain ; jute 
from India. The Southern States in our 
own country accommodatingly produce 
cotton, and that is a very important 
factor. These are the principal materials, 
in the material sense, but the dyes must 
not be overlooked. About 95 per cent, 
of the dyes used in the best carpets have 
come from Germany. 

The sheep of the United States fur- 
nish a very fine, soft wool used for cloth- 
ing, undergarments and all kinds of 
woolen goods, but carpets require strong, 
tough, wear-resisting yarns made from 
the wool grown on the sheep of wild, 
mountainous and cold countries. 

Yarns are not generally made from 
wool in its pure, native stock, but a 
judicious mixture with other wools 
brings the best results. The great basis 
is China wool mixed with Scotch, Rus- 
sian, South American or Georgian. 
Worsted yarns used in the highest grades 
of carpets and rugs are made by combing 
and recombing the wool until the fibres 
are lengthened to the proper size. Italian hemp forms the bulk of the 
linen required, but flax makes a finer linen which is also liberally used. 

Jute is placed in the backs of the cheapest and some of the medium 
grades of floor coverings. It is grown in India, but both the linen and 
jute used in carpets are now spun in this country. 

Process or Manufacturing 

The invention in 1801 of the "Jacquard" by the Frenchman of that 
name, marked a distinct epoch in textile manufacturing in goods requiring 
a pattern, as by this j)rocess the design can be produced in the cloth 
with absolute accuracy. Later when used in carpet making, particularly 



The spools unwind into forms 
of beauty 




These " cops arrest your attention. 
Linen, cotton or jute. Placed 
inside the shuttle 



THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 



by power, the matching of the figure when sewed was perfect, a restUt not 
always previously obtained. 

The Jacqttard is at the top of the loom, and consists of a great 
tuunber of cords and an arrangement of wires similar to a typewriter. 
The cords extend to the place of weaving where the yarns run through 
little eyelets on the cords. A set of cards punched with holes to repre- 
sent the design, the holes corresponding to the little checks on the design 
paper, revolves on a cylinder, and each card presses in turn on another 
cylinder covered with needles. The needles slide through where there 
are holes in the card, and control certain threads which bring up the 
yarn required to form the pattern. The principle is similar to the manner 
in which the music is produced in a player-piano. Tlie Ingrain, Brussels 
and Wilton are Jaccpiard fabrics. 

BODY BRUSSELS and WILTON 

It is easy to trace the names of carpet and rug fabrics. Both Brussels 
and Wilton are named from their places of origin or adaptation — Brussels 
in Belgium and Wilton in England. Brussels was not originally a carpet 




Body Brussels. Clear and precise. Sho^vs its ribs plainly 

but a wall tapestry with a ribbed surface and the carpet was first made 
in England between 1740 and 1750. The Wilton efifect was also made in 
Flanders and France before its manufacture in England in the middle 
of the eighteenth century. 




Wilton. "Durable as Iron."" Clean-cut, soft and luxurious 

The looped surface of the Brussels is made by weaving the worsted 
over a round wire of which there are several ready, and each is with- 



THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 



^r© 



A knife-tipped wire. Has a very cutting way 

drawn In- an arm and replaced forward waiting to be used again. In 
weaving Wilton the w'ire contains a sharp knife edge, which when with- 
drawn, cuts the loop, making the pile or plush surface. This is the only 
essential difference in the two fabrics. These carpets are made from 
colored yarns wound on hundreds of spools which are placed upon frames, 
not over six, at the back of the loom, one color only on a frame, except 
under certain conditions where several may be used on a frame, called 
"id^nting." The yarns are kept in tension by weights. The trap-board in 
the Jacquard raises the colors needed to go over one wire. The chain 
running lengthwise and the cross-shot sent side wise by the shuttle, across 
the back, are then placed in position and the reed completes the oper- 
ation by pounding them all together. This is repeated until the end of 
the roll. The reed also serves the jnu-jiose of guiding the hundreds of 
threads of yarn which pass between its close partitions. A good idea of 



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i ^f 






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. f ! 


1 


[ \l 

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"The busy 


shuttle 


comes and 




goes— 






Setting the records to music. A Wilton loom in action 



THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 



the reed may be had 
by placing against 
each other the teeth 
of two combs. 

In r n g making 
the cards are so ar- 
ranged that in a strip 
the end 1) order is 
woven tirst, then the 
center of the rng, then 
the other end border. 
The side borders are 
woven with other sets 
of cards. The srreat 





The Records. Preparing* 
to "{ace the music" 

The Wilt o n is 
made heavier t h a n 
the Brussels and is 
the b e s t domestic 
fabric for dura1)ility. 
The reason that a 
\\'ilton looks so nnich 
darker and richer than 
a Rrussels. althousih 



The "Assembly Room — 

where all parts " get 

together 

mechanical feature of 
these two grades is that 
where one color is on 
the surface, all the 
other colors are under 
it in the back thus giv- 
ing the fal)ric "body" 
or thickness and wear- 
ing quality, therefore 
the name "Body" Brus- 
sels. 




Automatic Barbers. Getting 
a hair cut 



Feminine Spies. Looking 
for the enemy 



THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 



made of the same 
yarn, is that the cut 
])ile absorbs more 
Hght. A room with 
a high ceihng is better 
adapted to a \)'\\e 
fabric than one with 
a low ceihng. 

There are some 
ilouble Wihons made; 
that is, the face or pile 
IS woven thick be- 
tween two backs, one 
on top and one on the 
Ijottom and then the 
])ile cut. making two 




Mammoth steamer 



Raising tfie fallen 



complete rugs. This is attended with great danger of uneven cutting 
thereby si)oiling the rugs, and production of this kind is limited. 

It has recently been discovered by the pioneer Wilton manufac- 
turers already mentioned, that rugs in any shape could be made by the 
Jacquard system, and oval, octagonal and other shapes have been suc- 
cessfully produced. 

TAPESTRY and VELVET 

Tapestry has a resemblance to the ancient wall tapestries in its some- 
what misty, lack-of-precision elTect and is capable of quite as artistic 
treatment, for there is no limit to the colors which may be used. Velvet 
carpet looks something like velvet goods, therefore its appropriate name. 

These grades bear the same relation to each other as the Brussels 
and Wilton, the Tapestry having the ribbed or looped eiTect of the 
Brussels while the Velvet has the cut-pile appearance of the Wilton. The 
method of ])roduction, however, is vastly different. These two are known 
as printed fabrics and do not require the Jacquard mechanism with the 
punched cards, but the colors are all printed upon the threads before 




Tapestry. Another member of the rib family 



THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 




l^^ 



Velvet. Somewhat impressionistic, but soft and resilient 

weaving. This process, being very delicate, requires absolute accuracy 
so that the color when woven is exactly in the right spot to do its part in 
the design. The yarn is prepared for an entire "print" which is usually 

about fifty rolls of 50 
or 60 yds. each and the 
width or "pitch" from 
180 to 216 threads. 

After placing the 
yarn ttpon a large cyl- 
inder called a "drum," 
each little section of 
color corresponding to 
the same section in the 
design is m a d e by 
means of dye contained 




in a small vessel which 
runs upon a track under 
the dnun. One color at 
a time is ])rinted. the 
operator who does the 
printing passing the 
portion of the yarn not 
requiring the particular 
color, to the next p^rt 
where is is needed. 



Setting the pattern. Here it is in the elongated form 



THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 



being guided by tbe design. 
A small wheel revolves 
in the dye and touches 
the threads, the color being 
elongated to allow for 
weaving over the wire. The 
next color is then applied 
in the same way and so on, 
the resemblance l)eing to the 
vari-colored zei)hyr with 
w h i c h all are familiar. 
This process makes many 
threads alike, for they only 
represent one of the 200 or 
more in the width, all of 
which must be thus treated. 
With these steamed and set 
with great precision the 
process of weaving is 
s i m p 1 e, for when the 
threads are woven the colors will come up exactly as in the design. It will 
be seen that each thread being printed with all colors, all the yarn is on 
the surface and none is carried through the back as in the Brussels and 
Wilton. This method was invented in England about 1832 by Richard 
Whytock. 

There are many Tapestries and Velvets woven in one solid color 
and the figure then stamped in by great pressure of rollers on which the 
design has been cut, each color having a roller, but each roller having cut 
in it only that portion of the design containing its particular color. After 
drying on hot cylinders, the face is raised again by steaming. This process 
was invented in 1891 bv James Dunlap of Philadelphia. 




■' Making its mark." The cylinder press giving its 
"stamp of approval 



AXMINSTER 

There are two styles — the ordinary or S])Ool Axminster and Che- 
nille Axminster. The process is neither the Jacquard like the Wilton 
and Brussels nor the printing system like the Ta])estry and \'elvet, and, in 
fact, the methods of i)roducing the two varieties dift"er materially. The 
name comes from the town of Axminster in England where the goods 
were first made about the middle of the eighteenth century. 



SPOOL AXMINSTER 



As in the cases of all excei)t the Jaccjuard fabrics, the planning of 
the colored yarns, in order to form the pattern, is very important, and is 
done directly from the design rather than through a set of cards. 



THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 



The Axniinster design is before the operator, who arranges one cross- 
shot with the colors side by side, exactly as they are painted in the one 
row of small squares across the design. The yarns have previously been 
dyed in the skein, and the laying out is done on a long frame from which 
thev are wound on a large spool the width of the fabric. 




Axminster. Better than the picture indicates. It had a "coat of many colors ' 

A great quantity of this one combination is thereby provided for it 
takes but a small amount in the acttial weaving and is not used again tmtil 
the repeat of the pattern, when this same spool comes into action. The 
other cross-shots emljraced 
in the complete pattern are 
planned in the same way. 

Each spool is provided '■ 
with a projecting frame con- ; 
taining many small tubes j--- 





Planning "Josephs Coat." Axminsters may be highly 
colored or as few as two colors used 



( )n tile' Square 



through w h i c h the 
threads of yarn ])ass. 
The spools are ])laced 
in ])ro])er rotation on an 
endless chain, by which 
thev are carried to the 
weaving ])oint on the 
loom, where the yarns 
extending fro m the 
ttibes are grasped by a 
row of nippers a n d 
d r a w n between the 
warps. These are then 
caught on the lower 



THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 




The endless chain which makes 
"the hum of industry" 



ends by another series of ine- 
chaiiical fingers which brings 
them np under the filler which 
has been carried across the 
loom. The yarns are then cut 
at the tubes by a pair of 
knives working as automatic 
shears, leaving the small pieces 
which form the pile face of 
the carpet. Each spool is 
brought into position in turn 
until the pattern is finished, 
when the procession of spools 
comes again. There is no 
limit to the number of colors 
which may be vised, but to 
be made economically a large 
quantity of goods must be 
manufactured at a time. The 
])rice of this grade is between 
the Velvet and the Wilton. 

Although there are very 
few factories in Philadelphia 
making Axminsters at present, 
they are ])opular and the pros- 
pects are that their production 
will increase largely in the 
future. 



CHENILLE AXMINSTER 

Here may be said to be the floor fabric de luxe. In a good grade, its 
thick tufts of yarn, long pile and heavy back make it the rival of the 
Oriental in appearance and wear, and its cost is greater than the Wilton. 
It is also called "vScotch" Axminster having been first sitccessfully pro- 
duced in Scotland, although patented in England in 1839. 

Chenille is a row of tufts called "fitr," botmd on a set of fine 
warp threads. 

The manner of making Chenille Axminster is to some extent a hand 
process and requires two looms, one to make the Chenille, the other to 
make the back, and, as this liack is woven, bind the Chenille to it by strong 
threads. The Chenille as made on the first loom is like a sheet of thick, 
flat cloth, with warps close together, running through, in fact just the 
exact height of the pile apart, for the goods are cut into little strips 
and bent up on each side of the warps by steaming. The warps then 



THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA. 




Chenille. One section partly cut between the warps 

form the back of the strip of Chenille which is attached to the solid back, 
thus making- the completed fabric. 




Chenille. Bent up on the warp, ready to attach to the back 

It has been found impossible to produce the pattern except by 
human guidance. The weaver, formerly by hand, and later by pressmg 
a key sends the desired color cross-wise through the myriad warps. 
There' are as many shuttles containing yarn as there are colors m the 
desi-n— one color only in a shuttle. One color may be sent through a 
nuniber of times in succession according to the painting of the design. 
One large sheet of cloth produces many little strips of Chenille each 
identical in coloring, for they represent one shot of weft only, exactly as 
one shot across is shown on the design. After the Chenille is woven on 

the weft loom, it is 
-«w(gjjpjM!MiwiTMs»i!8»'wiB«waM^^^i^t>- "" _ 'jm tea^iEi. taken to the tur 

cutter. This consists 
of a steel cylinder 
with grooves cut in it, 
the center of the 
grooves being equally 
distant apart and 
equal to the distance 
between each set of 
warp threads in the 
Chenille cloth. The 
cloth is put over this 
machine and a set of 
very sharp high-speed 

A 30-foot Chenille Axminster loom This monster - ^j^^ ^^^^^j^^^ 

mechanism lays its tribute at our teet 




THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 

yarn down the center between the warp threads. A strip is used as it is 
required in each repeat of the figure. The second shot across is planned 
in the same manner, then the third and continued until every shot is 
made that is required to form the pattern. It is readily seen that the 
whole cloth woven on the warps running down becomes the width when 
cut into strips. 

After being steamed the strips of Chenille are ])laced in a large 
shuttle with the succession of cross-shots now properly arranged, and 
mechanically sent back and forth over the second or Chenille-setting 
loom. As the loom docs not weave with absolute accuracy, the weaver 
must guide by hand the setting of the Chenille while being attached to 
the back. As in the Spool Axminster, colors are practically unlimited 
but few colors and large quantities reduce the cost of production. 

Chenille Axminster rugs can be made in dififerent shapes with com- 
parative ease, because of the method of weaving and the assistance given 

by hand. 

SMYRNA 

For a while the Smyrna was about the only grade which could be 
classed as a rug and the production grew to great proportions, but. like 
the Ingrain it is not as ])rominent as formerly in the realm of carpetdom. 
It is an imitation of the Smyrna or Turkish rugs — hence its name. 
Smyrna is a thick, chenille, double-faced fabric made somewhat in the 
manner of the Chenille y\xminster except that the small strips remain 
flat and stick out on both the face and Ijack. making both sides identical. 

INGRAIN 

The Ingrain is a soft, flat fabric the same on botli sides except for 
the reversal of the colors. It is mostly in two "])ly" ^dthough "three 
plys" were formerly made in consideraljle (juantities. As the name 




Ingrain. Ichabod — "The glory of my house has departed "" 

indicates, the plys are ingrained into each other. The colored yarns are 
placed in shuttles which are thrown back and forth across the loom 
through the warps, the Jacqviard regulating the colors forming the pattern. 
The warp unites the two plys where there is no figure or where the 



THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 



figure changes. Where there is any amount of one color or combination 
of colors, the two plys are separate from each other, and in wear these 
places, called "pockets," give out first, so it is desirable to have a design 
well knit-up with frequent changes. 

At first only two colors were used and later four colors, but their 
application was limited until the invention about 1885 by an adopted 
Philadelphian, Harry Hardwick, of the "mate-thread," popularly known 
as the "Bromlev weave" l)ecause of his connection with that well known 
firm. By the new method the same colors could be used in combinations 
not previously possible. Later Mr. Hardwick also invented the "Agra" 
weave in which the plys were bound together, avoiding pockets. Ingrain 
carpet was almost invariably one yard wide. Women were usually the 
weavers as the work was light and the loom rather simple in construction. 

Methods of Distribution 

Tales are still told in Kensington of how the old time manufacturer 
who owned one, two or three hand-looms, would bundle a roll when com- 
pleted on a wagon or push-cart and take it to Second Street, then the 
carpet Emi)orium of the city, and after considerable dickering, sell it to 
the dealer, alwavs " 'lossing' money on every roll !" The journeyman 
weaver was generally "boarded" and "lodged" by the proprietor. The 
small factories were, in many cases, the foundations for great establish- 
ments through which the sons or successors of the originators gained 
considerable wealth. 

In modern times there are four principal ways in which the product 
is distributed — by direct solicitation of the manufacturer, by selling 
agencies, through the jobber or middleman, and through the mail order 
houses. 

\\'e are obliged by force of circumstances to consume our own 
product in addition to several millions of dollars' worth of European and 
Oriental rugs and carpets imported each year. The necessity for buying 
abroad the great bulk of materials used, and the much higher wages 
paid in the United States — and Philadelphia pays better than elsewhere — 
make it impossible to compete with Great Britain, Germany and France, 
consequently there is practically no exportation of floor coverings. The 
wonderful growth of the L^nited States with its enormous consuming 
power has been sufficient warrant for the increased number of factories 
and additional looms, of which Philadelphia has had a great share in 
recent years. 

There are two seasons in the year. The manufacturer places on 
sale in the fall of the year, the goods which are shipped to the retailer for 
his spring business which opens about March of the following year, and 
the goods shown in the early summer are for the fall season beginning 
about September. 



THE RUG AND CARPET INDUSTRY OF PHILADELPHIA 



Otner Features 

Although, strictly speaking, spinning the yarn from the raw material, 
scouring, dyeing, spooling and beaming are not parts of the carpet busi- 
ness, the largest manufacturers include one or more of these processes in 
their system with great personal satisfaction and confidence in the superi- 
ority of their products. 

In the finishing of woven goods, steaming, shearing and burling play 
important parts, particularly as applied to the pile faljrics like Wilton, 
Axminster and Velvet. The steamer raises the pile which may have 
been crushed, the shearing machine trims it to a uniform height and the 
women btirlers remove and repair all the minor imperfections, such as 
knots, threads, etc. 

While not carpets, at least linoleums and oil cloths are floor coverings, 
and the product of several large and important establishments may be 
placed to the credit of the splendid industry to which our attention has 
been given. 

The Quaker City is justly proud of its indtistries, among which 
floor covering holds its place near the summit. These in cumtilation 
justify the adoption of the slogan with which this article l)egins and ends: 




Note : The great war raging in Europe and Asia has not been taken into con- 
sideration, for the effect lias not been to necessarily change sources of supply, but 
to temporarily curtail production and sliipment. There is a great stringency in 
materials of all kinds, but it is assumed that after the war conditions will become 
normal, each community resuming its former activities. 

A notable exception, however, will probably be found in dye-stuffs, for as 
"Necessity is the Mother of Invention," the dearth of these materials has com- 
pelled experimentation on a large scale, and such wonderful progress has been 
made, that with proper government protection, it may not longer be necessary to 
depend upon Germany. The raw materials are here, their secrets are being dis- 
covered, and new plants built or old ones adapted to the making of dye-stuffs, so 
the prospects are bright that our requirements will be self-supplied in the future. 

For the photographs other than those used in the description of Wilton 
manufacture, the author acknowledges credit to the following: 

Ferguson Carpet Company. 

"Good Furniture" Magazine. 

McCleary, Wallin and Crouse. 

Overbrook Carpet Company. 

Philadelphia .Xxminster Carpet Company. 




The Make-up of the Wilton 



HOWING the various colored yarns 
carried through the rug. Where 
one color shows on the surface to form 
the design the other five are buried in 
the body of the fabric. dJ»f d* <i^ 



